QUESTION TEXT: Perception cannot be a relationship between a conscious…
QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Parallel Reasoning
ANALOGOUS FLAWED ARGUMENT: “Animals that we feed cannot be pets, because we do not give food to some animals that are pets.”
PARAPHRASE OF ARGUMENT: Perception cannot be when we have beliefs about material objects, because we have beliefs about some material objects which are imperceptible (cannot be perceived).
ANALYSIS: This reads like gobbledygook to most test-takers. When you come across a question like this, simply pause, read slowly and consider what is going on. You don’t necessarily even need to figure out what an “imperceptible material object” is to solve this question.
Here is the structure of the argument: C can never be D, because some of D can never be C. (In the original argument, it’s also plausible that C can in fact be D.)
___________
- CORRECT. This is it. Even though we have aesthetic reactions to non-art, that doesn’t mean we can’t have aesthetic reactions to art. And it’s quite plausible that art can produce aesthetic reactions.
- It’s possible those people had an obligation, but were merely breaking it.
- This feels similar, but the structure is different. It would have to say, “because sometimes we direct actions towards solving problems which cannot be solved.”
- This is a bad argument; the assertion could be a true statement about happiness even if we can’t measure the comparison. But it’s not the same flaw.
- We could investigate without the possibility of understanding. But that’s nitpicking, and if we don’t consider that point this is actually a good argument.
Recap: The question begins with “Perception cannot be a relationship between a conscious”. It is a Flawed Parallel Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Flawed Parallel questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.
More Resources for Flawed Parallel Reasoning Questions
- Conditional Reasoning Article: Learn about conditional statements.
- LR Diagrams Guide: Learn how to draw LR diagrams.
- Flaw drills: Practice identifying flaws.
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Flawed Parallel Reasoning questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers flawed parallel reasoning questions.

Hey Graeme! This was a really helpful explanation. After poring over this one, I think the analogous flawed argument you gave might be incorrect.
To follow the structure of the argument, I think it should be “because we do not give food to some animals that are pets.” Perhaps I am misunderstanding. Would appreciate a second look at this one.
You’re absolutely correct. Thanks for catching that! It has been fixed.